France and Germany near deal on De Cos for ECB top job as EU confirms two candidates

Two candidates have been put forward to replace Christine Lagarde at the helm of the European Central Bank, an EU official said on Friday, as EU leaders gathered in Dublin for an informal summit.Spanish daily El País also reported that France and Germany were finalising a deal on the central bank's top jobs, with Spain's Pablo Hernández de Cos as the favourite to become the next president.The official did not name the two candidates, but as Euronews previously reported, the contenders are Pablo Hernández de Cos and former Dutch central bank chief Klaas Knot.The Eurogroup confirmed both nominations last week.European Council President António Costa updated leaders on Friday morning and aims to begin consulting the European Parliament and the ECB's Governing Council at the EU summit on 26 November, the official said.A new deadline of 18 November has been set for nominations to fill the other two vacancies on the central bank’s six-member Executive Board, which runs the ECB day to day. The posts are chief economist and head of market operations, both significant roles in the leadership.German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron are currently in "intensive" talks to negotiate the candidates.In Dublin, Merz told reporters that agreements were in sight but not yet final, and that he needed a few more days to consult his coalition…